2021 Raine Annual Awards Ceremony – Funding Announcements
It was a pleasure to announce the funding awardees for 2021 at the Raine Annual Awards Ceremony, held over breakfast at UniClub on 24 November 2021. We welcomed our guest speaker, Professor Peter Klinken – WA Chief Scientist, who was awarded a Raine Major Research Grant for his research “Intracellular signalling and apoptosis in erythroid cells” back in 1994.
Overall, the Raine Medical Research Foundation and its partners have awarded close to $2.9mill for research to commence in 2022. Major funding partners include the WA Department of Health – Future Health Research and Innovation Fund, the BrightSpark Foundation, and the University of Western Australia (Cockell bequest). The Research Committee acknowledges the excellent work being conducted in Western Australia and extends best wishes to all applicants for the ongoing success of their research. Congratulations go to the successful recipients.
To view all photos from the 2021 Annual Award Ceremony held on 24 November 2021, please click here.
Raine Priming Grants
The Raine Medical Research Foundation is pleased to announce that it has awarded six Raine Priming Grants (from 56 eligible applications – 10.7% success rate) for early-career scientists who are progressing towards an independent research career.
Dr Qi Fang: Raine Robson Fellow
BRITElab, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, The University of Western Australia
Project: Low-cost and wireless imaging for cancer detection during surgery
$236,720
Dr Nelly Amenyogbe: Raine BrightSpark Fellow
Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia
Project: Harnessing innate immune metabolism to save newborns from infectious death
$242,793
Dr Rachael Zemek: Raine BrightSpark Fellow
Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia
Project: Leveraging the surgical wound healing immune response to stimulate local cancer eradication
$244,360
Dr Penelope Strauss: Raine Cockell Fellow
Youth Mental Health, Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia
Project: Enhancing suicide prevention for LGBTQA+ young people
$242,886
Dr Virginie Lam
Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University
Project: Restoration of myelin genesis with dietary-derived bioactive lipids: An opportunity to improve disease outcomes in Multiple Sclerosis
$208,060
Clinician Research Fellowships
The WA Department of Health – Future Health Research and Innovation Fund and the Raine Medical Research Foundation are pleased to announce that four Clinician Research Fellowships have been awarded in 2021 (from 21 eligible applications – 19% success rate) to clinicians who wish to develop their research capability while continuing some clinical duties.
Dr Charlie McLeod
Department of Infectious Diseases, Perth Children’s Hospital
Project: Validation of a model for predicting bacterial (co)infection in bronchiolitis
$403,808
Dr Pamela Laird
Department of Physiotherapy, Child and Adolescent Health Service
Project: Improved respiratory health for Aboriginal children through knowledge and translation
$225,760
Dr Wee Loong Chin
Department of Medical Oncology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital
Project: Designing a prediction framework for mesothelioma response to chemoimmunotherapy
$435,259.30
Dr Michael O’Sullivan
Department of Immunology, Perth Children’s Hospital
Project: Establishing an adaptive platform trial for food oral immunotherapy (ADAPT-OIT)
$384,975
Research Collaborations Awards
There were 15 eligible applications for the 2021 Research Collaboration Awards, of which six were successful (40% success rate).
Healy Research Collaboration Awards
The 2021 Healy Research Collaboration Awards for early-career medical research have been awarded to two recipients:
Dr Jonathan Chee
The University of Western Australia
Collaborating Institutions: The University of Melbourne and St Vincent’s Institute
Project: Can inhibition of JAK-STAT signalling prevent autoimmunity and improve anti-tumour immunity?
$27,812
Dr Mohamed Estai
CSIRO and The University of Western Australia
Collaborating Institutions: Western Sydney University, The University of Melbourne, Edith Cowan University and the WA Health Translational Network
Project: Enablers and barriers to accessing digital oral health resources: caregivers and health providers’ perspectives
$29,915
Cockell Research Collaboration Awards
The 2021 Cockell Research Collaboration Awards for mental illness research have been awarded to two recipients:
Dr Julian Basanovic
The University of Western Australia
Collaborating Institutions: The University of Sydney and Western Kids Health
Project: Creating tools to help clinicians protect the mental health of children with chronic pain
$12,768
Dr Lynden Miles
The University of Western Australia
Collaborating Institutions: Macquarie University and Wise Realities Institute for Healthcare Emerging Technologies Research
Project: Investigating the negative relationship between social anxiety and interpersonal coordination: identifying mechanisms and developing interventions
$17,208
Raine BrightSpark Research Collaboration Awards
The 2021 BrightSpark Research Collaboration Awards for child health research have been awarded to two recipients:
Dr Henry Hui
The University of Western Australia
Collaborating Institution: The National University of Malaysia
Project: Improving survival in childhood leukaemia
$29,864
Dr Akila Rekima
Telethon Kids Institute, The University of Western Australia
Collaborating Institution: Amsterdam University Medical Center
Project: Influence of early life diet on intestinal epithelial cell development and function
$29,986
Publication Prizes
There were 12 eligible applications for the 2021 Publications Prizes, with three Prizes awarded (25% success rate).
Raine Research Prize
The 2021 Raine Research Prize for the best published research by an early-career medical researcher was awarded to:
Dr Lakshini Herat
School of Biomedical Sciences and Dobny Hypertension Centre, The University of Western Australia
Publication: SGLT2 Inhibitor–Induced Sympathoinhibition: A Novel Mechanism for Cardiorenal Protection. Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC): Basic to Translational Science. 2020 February; 5(2), 169-79.
$5,000
Strachan Memorial Prize
The 2021 Strachan Memorial Prize for the best published research by an early-career clinical researcher was awarded to:
Dr Michelle Olaithe
School of Psychological Science, The University of Western Australia
Publication: Cognitive deficits in obstructive sleep apnea: Insights from a metareview and comparison with deficits observed in COPD, insomnia, and sleep deprivation, Sleep Medicine Reviews. 2018; 38, 39-49.
$5,000
Raine BrightSpark Research Prize
The 2021 BrightSpark Research Prize for the best published research in the field of child health research by an early-career researcher was awarded to:
A/Prof Christopher Brennan-Jones
Telethon Kids Institute, Curtin University
Publication: Topical antibiotics for chronic suppurative otitis media, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2020; Issue 1.
$5,000
Link to Past Recipients
